Kula: Proposed appellate court will help settle industrial disputes faster
3 November 2018 Print page
PETALING JAYA: The proposed setting up of the Industrial Appellate Court will allow the final outcome of unfair dismissal complaints to be determined much earlier, Human Resources Minister M Kulasegaran said.
He said it currently took anywhere between seven and nine years for a dispute to be resolved if it went up to the Federal Court.
“We are trying to ensure employees and employers know the final outcome within two years.”
Kulasegaran said this in response to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s budget speech that the appellate court would be set up for speedy disposal of disputes.
Lim also said the government would review all labour laws to ensure there is no discrimination against workers and that their welfare is taken care of.
Kulasegaran said the livelihood of employees would be affected once they lost their jobs, while their families would also suffer.
“They go to the Industrial Court to seek reinstatement and get back-wages.”
If this process took too long, he added, it brought uncertainty to both workers and their employers.
Under the present system, employers or employees must file a judicial review in the High Court if they are unhappy with the decision of the Industrial Court.
Kulasegaran said the appellate court would replace the function of the High Court but aggrieved parties could still take their disputes to the Court of Appeal or the Federal Court.
He said industrial disputes that involved the hearing of unfair dismissals could also be cleared faster with the appointment of more Industrial Court chairmen.
Meanwhile, lawyer Ragunath Kesavan said he was glad the government had finally decided to restructure the Industrial Court process.
“The Malaysian Bar had in the past advocated the need to expedite cases involving termination of employees and I am happy with this proposal,” said Ragunath, who is a former Bar president.
He said the present judicial review proceedings in the High Court impeded the appellate process.
“First, an aggrieved party must get leave from the court before the High Court judge proceeds to hear whether the Industrial Court chairman was correct in his decision,” he said.
He said it would add to the financial burden of employees if they were to appeal against the High Court ruling. It would drain the resources of employees due to the legal costs involved.
“Some of the employees can only take on their employers if their trade unions support the legal battle,” he added.
Source : https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2018/11/03/kula-proposed-appellate-court-will-help-settle-industrial-disputes-faster/